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<H1>Great Loop Route</H1>
<P>The conventional route is more or less counter clockwise and
consist of a number of interconnected links.</P>
<P STYLE="margin-left: 0.42in">[[GL.FloridaKeys|Florida Keys]] - The Florida Keys are
the southern most part of the Loop. Many Loopers also visit the
[[GL.Bahamas_todo|Bahamas]].<BR><BR>Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway - The Loop goes N up
the US Atlantic coast via the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway to NY,
NY. Along the way going up the East coast of [[GL.FloridaEast_todo|Florida]], [[GL.Georgia_todo|Georgia]], South
Carolina, North Carolina, , Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey. Many loopers stop and spend some time exploring Florida's St Johns river,
the NC Outer Banks, the Potomac River and Washington DC, and the
Chesapeake Bay.<BR><BR>Hudson River - From NY, NY the Loop continues
N via the Hudson River to Waterville, NY. As an alternative it is
possible to continue up the Atlantic Coast on the NE Great Loop which
continues NE through New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, the
Gulf of St Lawrence, and the St Lawrence River to Quebec,
Ontario.<BR><BR>At Waterville, NY there are two different routes.</P>
<P STYLE="margin-left: 0.83in">Erie Canal - Many loopers go W on the
Erie Canal to Three Rivers and then N to Oswego, NY. From Oswego most
continue N to Kingstone, Ontario. Alternately some continue W on the
Erie Canal to Buffalo, NY stopping along the way in the Finger Lakes.
From Buffalo, NY it is possible to continue W through Lake Erie, Lake
St Clair, and Lake Huron to Lake Michigan. Alternately it is possible
to go E through the Niagra River and Lake Ontario to Kingstone,
Ontario.</P>
<P STYLE="margin-left: 0.83in; margin-bottom: 0in">Champlain Canal -
Other loopers choose to continue N from Waterville, NY through the
Champlain Canal to the St. Lawrence river at Sorel, Quebec. From
there the route continues up the St Lawrence to Montreal. At Montreal
most loopers go N on the Ottawa River to Ottawa, Ontario and then via
the Rideau Canal to Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. An interesting
side trip is to go down river to Quebec. It is also possible to
follow the St Lawrence to Kingston.</P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR>
</P>
<P STYLE="margin-left: 0.42in">Having reached Kingston, Ontario via
either the Erie Canal or Champlain Canal most loopers continue via
the Trent Severn Waterway from Trenton, Ontario on Port Severn,
Ontario on Georgian Bay. The Loop continues W via the North Channel
to Sault St Marie. Some loopers enter Lake Superior but most turn S
through the Straits of Mackinac into Lake Michigan.<BR><BR>The Loop
continues S on Lake Michigan to Chicago, IL.<BR><BR>From Chicago, IL
the Loop continues S through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and
Illinois River to the Mississippi River just N of St Louis, MO. It is
possible to continue N on the Mississippi to Minneapolis, MN. Also on
this section is the Missouri River.<BR><BR>Proceeding S on the
Mississippi River the Loop meets the Ohio River at Cairo, IL. From
here most loopers go upriver on the Ohio River to the Tennessee River
or Cumberland River. It is possible to continue upriver NE on the
Ohio River to Pittsburg, PN. There are several interesting side
excersions on the Monongahela River, Kanawha River, Kentucky River,
and Green River. It is possible to continue the Loop S remaining on
the Mississippi River to New Orleans. Several side trips are possible
off this route including White River, Arkansas River, Ouachita River,
Red River, and serveral waterways around New Orleans.<BR><BR>Most
loopers continue S from the Tennessee River on the Tennessee
Tombigbee Waterway. The Ten-Tom connects the Tennessee River with the
Tombigbee River and then to Mobile, AL via the Mobile River.
Interesting side trips are available on the Black Warrior River and
Alabama River.<BR><BR>Having reached the Gulf of Mexico at either New
Orleans, LA or Mobile AL the Loop proceeds E via the Gulf
Intracoastal Waterway through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and
Florida's Gulf Coast including the Florida Keys. Some loopers choose
to forgo the Florida Keys and cross Florida on the Okeechobee
Waterway moving from Fort Myers on the west coast to Stuart on the
east coast. Having reached southern Florida many loopers go to the
Bahamas. It is also possible to travel W and S on the Gulf
Intracoastal Waterway through Louisiana, and Texas to Brownsville,
TX.</P>
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